Tchaikovsky's VIOLIN
CONCERTO
Sat 7 Sep 2024 Sun 8 Sep 2024
SOTA Concert Hall
PAUL HUANG
plays
Sat 7 Sep 2024, 7.30pm
Tchaikovsky's VIOLIN CONCERTO
Sun 8 Sep 2024, 4pm
SOTA Concert Hall
Orchestra of the Music Makers
Chan Tze Law, conductor
Paul Huang, violin
WAGNER
Overture to The Flying Dutchman (11’)
TCHAIKOVSKY
Violin Concerto in D major (35’)
INTERMISSION
TCHAIKOVSKY
Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy (20’)
GERSHWIN (arr. BENNETT)
Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture (24’)
Today’s performance lasts approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes, including a 20-minute intermission.
Photographs and videos will be taken at the event, in which you may appear. These may be published in OMM’s publicity channels and materials. By attending the event, you consent to the use of these photographs and videos for the foregoing purposes.
Music Makers ORCHESTRA OF THE
“WE ARE THE MUSIC MAKERS, AND WE ARE THE DREAMERS OF DREAMS.” — ARTHUR O’SHAUGHNESSY, “ODE”
The Orchestra of the Music Makers (OMM) is a Singapore-based symphony orchestra established in 2008, comprising over 140 highly-trained volunteer musicians. Although many have chosen careers outside of music, our musicians are dedicated to the high standards of music-making and community work which OMM stands for. Under the mentorship of Chan Tze Law, a leading Singaporean conductor and ViceDean of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, OMM has become an integral part of Singapore’s classical music scene and has gained international repute for presenting works of epic proportions, including the critically-acclaimed Singapore Premieres of Bernstein’s Mass, Wagner’s Das Rheingold and Die Walküre.
OMM was among the most active arts groups in Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic, receiving the COVID-19 Resilience Certificate for organising a wide array of digital productions, live performances, and outreach events between August 2020 to December 2021. Recordings of these digital productions have also been featured at the Expo 2020
Dubai, as well as on the Singapore Airlines Inflight Entertainment System.
Highlights of OMM’s 2024-25 season include performances with Lü Shao-Chia, Paul Huang, Stella Chen and Tito Munoz.
Orchestra of the Music Makers Ltd. is supported by the National Arts Council under the Major Company Scheme for the period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2025.
WEBSITE / www.orchestra.sg
FACEBOOK / @orchmusicmakers
INSTAGRAM / @omm.sg TIKTOK / @omm.sg
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CONDUCTOR
Chan Tze Law
Singaporean conductor Chan Tze Law is music director of Singapore’s Metropolitan Festival Orchestra (MFO) and the award-winning Orchestra of the Music Makers (OMM).
Chan has appeared at major European music festivals and led orchestras and soloists in China and the Asia Pacific region. His performances of Mahler’s 8th Symphony with OMM and Sing50 concerts with Lang Lang and MFO celebrating Singapore’s Jubilee were lauded by Singapore’s Sunday Times.
In 2020 he conducted OMM and an international starstudded cast at the Esplanade Theatres on the Bay to critical acclaim in Die Walküre, Singapore’s first-ever production of an opera from Wagner’s Ring cycle, with Opera (UK) proclaiming that Chan “elicited a multitude of expressive nuances and drew immense power without force from his musicians.”
As a pedagogue, Chan is a founding faculty member and Vice Dean of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore where as Associate Professor he lectures in conducting and
music leadership. More recently he was appointed Vice Dean of Students to oversee the university’s Center for the Arts. Internationally, Chan was the founding chief conductor of the Australian International Summer Orchestral Institute and has taught masterclasses in conducting at the Peabody Institute, USA, Royal Academy of Music, UK and the Queensland Conservatorium, Australia. He has served on the selection committee of the Oxford (University) Conducting Institute International Conducting Studies Conference and conducted at the Australian Youth Orchestra’s 2020 and 2022 prestigious National Music Camp.
Chan made his Singapore conducting debut with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in 2001. He has premiered and recorded numerous compositions by Singapore-based composers, as well as major classical repertoire by Mahler, Bruckner, Wagner, Elgar and others. Available on Spotify and Apple Music Classical, these have also been featured or broadcast on Singapore Airlines’ KrisWorld, Australia’s ABC Classic FM, and UK’s BBC Radio 3.
Paul Huang SOLOIST
Recipient of the prestigious 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 2017 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists, violinist Paul Huang is considered one of the most distinctive artists of his generation. The Washington Post remarked that Huang “possesses a big, luscious tone, spot-on intonation and a technique that makes the most punishing string phrases feel as natural as breathing,” and further proclaimed him as “an artist with the goods for a significant career” following his recital debut at the Kennedy Center.
Known for his “unfailing attractive, golden, and resonant tone” (The Strad), Huang’s recent highlights include an acclaimed debut at the Bravo! Vail Music Festival, stepping in for violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter in Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 with Chamber Orchestra Vienna-Berlin, Rotterdam Philharmonic with Lahav Shani, Detroit Symphony with Leonard Slatkin, Houston Symphony with Andres Orozco-Estrada, NHK and Dallas Symphonies with Fabio Luisi, Baltimore Symphony and Seoul Philharmonic with Markus Stenz, as well as recital debuts at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland and Aspen Music Festival.
An exclusive recording artist with France’s Naïve Records, his debut album “Kaleidoscope” was released worldwide in October 2023 and a second album is scheduled for release in January 2025. His recording of Toshio Hosokawa’s Violin Concerto “Genesis” with Residentie Orkest Den Haag was released on Naxos in June 2024.
During the 2024-25 season, Huang returns to the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Hiroshima Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and Knoxville Symphony, and makes his London debut at the Barbican Hall with BBC Symphony and Marie Jacquot as well as with Oregon, Indianapolis, and Toledo Symphonies. In January 2025, Huang will launch the 3rd edition of “Paul Huang & Friends” International Chamber Music Festival in Taipei, Taiwan, in association with the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan.
Born in Taiwan, Huang began violin lessons at the age of seven. He is a recipient of the inaugural Kovner Fellowship at The Juilliard School, where he earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees under Hyo Kang and I-Hao Lee. He plays on the legendary 1742 “exWieniawski” Guarneri del Gesù on extended loan through the Stradivari Society of Chicago and is on the faculty of Taipei National University of the Arts. He resides in New York.
FOREWORD
“Tale as old as time…” Romantic love is one of those fixtures of the arts. Every pop artist seems to sing about it; each year, there is a deluge of rom-coms; and any bookstore or library will have a stock of romance novels.
Classical music is no different — romantic love is central to all four pieces on our programme today. There are the classic love stories: The Flying Dutchman, Romeo and Juliet, and Porgy and Bess. But there is also a subtler, romantic link in the Violin Concerto, a piece born out of Tchaikovsky’s relationship with violinist Iosif Kotek.
A web of connections stretches across these love stories. At a glance, all of them are tragic in some way, Romeo and Juliet being perhaps the most grim of the four. The pathos is further intensified by the characters’ misunderstandings. Romeo, the Dutchman, and Bess all mistakenly believe that their love is lost or forsaken, leading them to abandon hope.
But there is more to these stories than just woe and sorrow. There is the redemptive power of love, seen in the magic that frees the Dutchman and the healing influence of Porgy and Bess’s relationship. There is also the resilience of love against all odds. Romeo and Juliet unite in spite of their families’ disapproval, while the public in Tchaikovsky’s time would have condemned his feelings for Kotek.
And of course, there is that indescribable feeling of being in love. Some might say that music is best placed among the arts to convey this. With the sonic power of a large orchestra, composers can evoke the full range of emotion, from quiet moments of tenderness to grand outpourings of passion. The importance of narratives is not lost on composers either. Programmatic music (music with a narrative) depicts characters, scenes, and even whole plotlines, further intensifying the emotions of these stories.
We hope the music you hear today evokes some of these deep emotions, as we present these four love stories on stage!
Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883)
Richard Wagner was not just a composer. He was also a conductor, music theorist, poet, polemical writer, philosopher, and stage director (amongst other roles). Through the genre of opera, Wagner developed and expressed his all-encompassing creative vision: a consummate artistic experience unifying all art forms. He described this artistic synthesis as Gesamtkunstwerk, or ‘total work of art’.
For Wagner, theatre was serious business. He lambasted his contemporaries for treating opera as mere entertainment, with frivolous plots, mediocre texts, formulaic structures, and gratuitous virtuosic displays. Instead, Wagner envisioned an organic artform that harkened back to the ideals of ancient Greek drama, integrating poetry, drama, stagecraft, music, song and dance. In his desire for this unified artistic vision, Wagner took the extraordinary step of writing his own libretti (the opera’s texts) and detailed stage directions for all his operas. For Wagner, poetry, music, and stagecraft could not be arbitrarily combined — they had to be carefully synthesised.
In his 1851 essay, A Communication to My Friends, Wagner denounced the prevailing operatic styles of time and set forth his own vision for opera, declaring, “I shall never write an Opera more. As I have no wish to invent an arbitrary title for my works, I will call them Dramas ” In that same essay, he also announced his next project: “I propose to produce my myth in three complete dramas, preceded by a lengthy Prelude….” This “myth” was none other than the monumental cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung).
After Wagner’s death, his operas were taken down some dark paths in the 20th century. His music (together with Mozart and Bruckner’s) was widely appropriated as Nazi propaganda — an association not helped by the fact that Wagner left behind several antisemitic writings. It should be noted that Wagner was never a Nazi (the party was only founded decades after his death) and there is no evidence that the Nazis referred to or were even aware of his writings. Despite this, some of these associations have continued to strengthen. As Alex Ross writes, “in an unsettling way, we now listen to Wagner through Hitler’s ears.” Perhaps some scepticism (not only for Wagner but also his critics) is necessary to assess if these assumptions are valid today. Ross also notes this, “I doubt that anyone would have been more confounded by this turn of events than Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism, who was deeply under Wagner’s spell.”
The Flying Dutchman OVERTURE TO (1841)
In 1839, virtually penniless and without a passport, Richard Wagner cowered in the belly of a small boat, rocked by choppy waves on the Baltic Sea. On the run from his creditors, he would be battered by the relentless weather for three whole weeks. But this trip was a font of inspiration. When he reached Paris, he began work on a new opera, The Flying Dutchman Wagner later recalled, “The voyage… made a wonderful impression on my imagination; the legend of the Flying Dutchman, which the sailors verified, took on a distinctive, strange colouring that only my sea adventures could have given it.”
The legendary Dutchman is a ship captain, cursed by the devil to roam the seas forever. To break the curse, he needs faithful love, which he finds with Senta, a young maiden. But as the day goes on, the Dutchman begins to doubt their love, and in his fear he sails off. Senta then makes the ultimate sacrifice: throwing herself into the sea, she proves her love. Her tragic choice is ultimately redemptive. The Dutchman is freed by her selfless act, and they reunite in the afterlife.
The Flying Dutchman marks the beginning of Wagner’s mature style, particularly in his use of leitmotifs (short musical phrases which represent people and concepts). Wagner would continue to
refine this device, with the most intricate usage found in his Ring cycle. Although The Flying Dutchman is a prototypical example, it is no less effective. Within the short Overture, the various themes create a microcosm of the opera.
We are first thrust into the stormy sea, with blinding tremolos and whirling chromatic scales. A threatening brass fanfare emerges — this is the Dutchman’s theme, representing the curse and his anguish. As the storm dissipates, Senta’s theme is revealed. A gentle prayer, it symbolises Senta and the love and salvation she represents.
The storm crashes back in, but this time it transitions to a jovial sailor’s song, led by the winds — the Dutchman has found love! But this joy cannot last. The three themes (the Dutchman, Senta, and the sailor’s song) begin to tear each other apart, reflecting the Dutchman’s inner turmoil and doubt. Ultimately, love prevails. The full orchestra bursts into a triumphant procession based on Senta’s theme — she has saved the Dutchman. The Dutchman’s theme shines forth, now in a bright major key, before Senta’s song returns for a final tender moment. A yearning violin melody represents redemption for the lovers, as they ascend into the heavens, united in their faithful love.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893)
Today, Tchaikovsky is arguably the quintessential Russian classical music composer. Even in his own lifetime, he became a household name at home and abroad. But his path to this universal acclaim was by no means an easy journey.
Initially, Tchaikovsky did not even plan to be a composer. Despite displaying musical talents as a child, he embarked on a career as a civil servant, working as a legal clerk for three years. It was only later, at the age of twenty-two, that he enrolled in the newly opened St Petersburg Conservatory.
At the time, Russian music was undergoing an awakening. The new conservatory was part of an effort to develop local talents instead of ‘importing’ musicians from Europe. However, some felt they were still too conservative in using European styles and pedagogy. The most vocal of these critics were a group of Russian composers known as The Five. Led by Mily Balakriev, they rejected Western ‘academicism’, advocating instead for an entirely homegrown Russian style. In the face of this dichotomy, Tchaikovsky managed to strike out on his own, finding a happy middle road. Much like The Five, he embraced Russian folk music, but at the same time, he did not shy away from his European-style conservatory training.
A big breakthrough came in 1877, when his friend Iosif Kotek introduced him to the wealthy widow Nadezhda von Meck. Von Meck became Tchaikovsky’s patron, providing an ample stipend over the next thirteen years. This gave Tchaikovsky not only artistic freedom to develop his style, but also financial freedom to tour Europe, where he became more and more established. In 1884 he was conferred a title of nobility by the Tsar, and subsequently awarded a lifetime pension, cementing his position as one of Russia’s premier composers. Abroad, he was voted a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Paris, and conferred an honorary music doctorate by the University of Cambridge.
But while Tchaikovsky’s career had a very much upward trajectory, his personal life was less smoothsailing. He struggled with crippling bouts of self-doubt, suffered after his marriage collapsed after less then three months, and was always at great pains to hide his homosexuality from the public eye.
In his music, we catch a glimpse of the many aspects of this man. In his effortlessly swooning melodies we see Tchaikovsky’s natural gift for composition. In the Russian tunes and dances we hear Tchaikovsky the nationalist. And in the heart-rending laments and celebratory anthems, one can almost feel first-hand the tragedies and triumphs of Tchaikovsky’s life.
Violin Concerto IN D MAJOR (1878)
The Violin Concerto, one of Tchaikovsky’s best known works, owes much to violinist Iosif Kotek. For one, this was one of the early works that Tchaikovsky completed under Nadezhda von Meck, a relationship fostered by Kotek himself.
But Kotek was also personally involved in the concerto’s creation. It was Kotek who introduced Tchaikovsky to Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole, inspiring the composer to write his own concerto. It was also Kotek who guided Tchaikovsky throughout the writing process, advising on what was idiomatic for the violin. In the composer’s own words, “Iosif is essential for my violin concerto”. But they were more than just colleagues: Tchaikovsky was at one point deeply infatuated with the violinist. In a sense, this Violin Concerto was a labour of love.
Unsurprisingly, the solo violin is very much front-andcentre in this concerto, gliding in effortlessly after a short orchestral introduction to the First Movement The soloist introduces two different themes, both simple and charming. As these themes are developed, they take on different characters: sometimes sprightly, sometimes heroic, but always adorned with delicate violin acrobatics which finally culminate in a virtuosic solo cadenza. As the soloist settles on an extended trill, a flute delicately recalls the first theme, beginning the reprise of the themes, before a thrilling coda concludes the movement with bravado.
A woodwind chorale ushers in the Canzonetta (literally ‘little song’) — a plaintive melody sung by the solo violin. While there are glimmers of hope in the middle section, the overall mood is wistful, with a touch of melancholy. As the Canzonetta winds down, the music does not stop. Instead, it wanders aimlessly through murky harmonies, before a sudden bang launches us into the last movement.
Set in a rondo form, the Finale consists of a series of alternating musical episodes. The violin cavorts around gleefully in the Russian folk-inspired first episode. The next episode, broader and more rustic, is a different dance, supported by a drone. In contrast, the quiet third episode centres on a pleading melody. These episodes recur and alternate, leading to a riveting call-and-response between the orchestra and soloist, before they race each other to the end of the concerto.
Throughout the Concerto, Tchaikovsky demands an astonishing range of colours from the soloist. From gritty low-strings and athletic double stops, to smooth singing lines and glistening harmonics, it is a marvel that they all emanate from a single instrument — a technical feat perhaps impossible without Kotek’s guidance.
Romeo and Juliet OVERTURE-FANTASY (1880)
Throughout the centuries, Shakespeare’s literature has captivated creatives across various artistic disciplines. John Everett Millais immortalised the tragic figure of Ophelia in his haunting painting, while Mendelssohn found inspiration for his enchanting music in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Among these Shakespeare-inspired works is Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy. The initial concept was suggested by Balakirev, who provided extensive outlines and thematic suggestions, involving himself deeply in the composition. But Tchaikovsky was not overly influenced; rather, it set him on his journey of discovering his own composition style.
Initially, the Overture-Fantasy premiered to a lacklustre reception (it was unfortunately overshadowed by a scandal involving the premiere’s conductor). Disappointed, Tchaikovsky made significant revisions in line with Balakirev’s suggestions. He revisited it a decade later to rework the coda, creating the definitive version as we know it today.
Much like Wagner’s Overture to The Flying Dutchman, Tchaikovksy uses different themes to convey the essence of Romeo and Juliet. There is a sombre woodwind chorale in the opening, representing the wise Friar Laurence; a tempestuous ‘strife’ theme, embodying the long-standing hatred between the Montagues and Capulets; and the iconic ‘love’ theme, capturing the deep feelings shared by the young protagonists.
The Overture-Fantasy opens with Friar Laurence’s theme, but it is soon infused with an ominous atmosphere as strings layer in dissonant harmonies. Any fleeting moments of optimism are quickly snuffed out, foreshadowing the destructive tragedy of Romeo and Juliet’s ill-fated romance.
Strings and woodwinds engage in a tense exchange, before the feud between the families breaks loose. Punctuated by syncopated crash cymbals, the strife theme vividly evokes the tumultuous sword fights between the rival families. As the music simmers down, the beautiful love theme emerges. Tender and muted at first, the theme gains confidence, blossoming out of shimmering harmonies into a heartfelt declaration of love.
But this burgeoning romance is disturbed as the strife theme creeps back in. Friar Laurence’s theme also appears, as though urging for peace. But despite a final plea from the trumpet, chaos is inevitable, and the strife theme returns in full. Out of this turmoil, the love theme emerges, more passionate than ever. Still, it is crushed by conflict when the strife theme cuts in abruptly.
As we approach the end, the timpani taps out a steady, funereal beat, imitating Romeo’s heartbeat as he drifts into eternal sleep after consuming the poison. Fragments of the love theme resurface over a descending bass line, evoking a sense of loss. The couple’s fate is sealed by harsh tutti chords, juxtaposed against a thunderous timpani, as the tragedy comes to a close.
George Gershwin (1898 - 1937)
George Gershwin was born to Russian immigrant parents in Brooklyn. He left high school for Tin Pan Alley, where he proved to be a highly-versatile vocal accompanist and songwriter, quickly absorbing a vast range of musical styles. At age 20, he soared to fame with his song Swanee, a mega-hit written for Al Jolson. He continued to write a stream of hit songs and several successful Broadway musicals. In 1924, Gershwin conquered the concert hall with Rhapsody in Blue, which assimilated jazz and classical influences.
Initially, the symphony orchestra version of Rhapsody in Blue was not orchestrated by Gershwin, but by Ferde Grofe. This was (and still is) common practice for composers on Broadway, improving their
efficiency by drawing on an orchestrators’ expertise. However, Gershwin was always looking to improve his technique, and sought out lessons from leading (classical) musicians of his day such as Nadia Boulanger and Maurice Ravel. They both declined though, with Ravel famously saying, “Why write bad Ravel when you write such great Gershwin?”
This setback did not stop Gershwin from being drawn to the French orchestral styles of Ravel and Debussy. Gershwin’s own works became increasingly colourful and sophisticated, as shown in audience favourites such as An American in Paris and Cuban Overture The next genre for the immensely talented Gershwin to explore was opera. Melding his vast experience on Broadway with his growing technique in art music, Gershwin wrote Porgy and Bess — now regarded as his ultimate masterpiece.
It was incredibly unfortunate that Gershwin passed away just two years later at the age of thirty-eight, resulting in one of music history’s most tantalising “what ifs” — if Gershwin had continued on his rapid trajectory, what might he have composed next?
Porgy and Bess: A SYMPHONIC PICTURE (1943)
ARR. ROBERT RUSSELL BENNETT
DuBose Heyward’s novel, Porgy, depicts life in Catfish Row, a black neighbourhood in Charleston, South Carolina. It is widely regarded as one of the first novels to take African-American culture seriously. Gershwin was deeply inspired when he read it in 1926 and proposed an operatic adaptation to Heyward. Keen on
the idea, Heyward worked with Gershwin’s brother, Ira Gershwin, to write the libretto and lyrics.
The opera’s plot closely matches the book: Porgy, a poor beggar, meets Bess, an outcast and former cocaine addict, and they fall in love. But their new life
is upended when Porgy kills Bess’s violent ex-partner to protect her. Distraught, Bess believes that Porgy is about to be locked up for life (when in fact he is only temporarily detained). Preying on her vulnerable state, a drug dealer drags her back into her old lifestyle. But the opera ends on a hopeful note: Porgy resolves to go to New York and find Bess.
In search of an authentic musical language, Gershwin visited Charleston to immerse himself in the music and speech of the locals. He elaborated, “Porgy and Bess is a folk tale. Its people naturally would sing folk music. When I first began work on the music I decided against the use of original folk material because I wanted the music to be all of one piece. Therefore I wrote my own spirituals and folksongs. But they are still folk music—and therefore, being in operatic form, Porgy and Bess becomes a folk opera.” Gershwin was also inspired by the great European operas, declaring that “[Porgy and Bess] will resemble a combination of the drama and romance of Carmen and the beauty of Meistersinger”.
Gershwin composed and orchestrated the opera in just under a year, but its opening in Boston in 1935 was commercially unsuccessful and critical reception was mixed. Today, Porgy and Bess is regarded as Gershwin’s masterpieces, with many of its songs incorporated into popular culture. But Gershwin’s untimely death meant that he never lived to see this success.
In 1942, the conductor Fritz Reiner asked Robert Russell Bennett, a friend of Gershwin’s and one of the leading orchestrators of his generation, to assemble a Symphonic Picture of the opera. Reiner provided a detailed brief, as later recounted by Bennett:
“Mr. Reiner selected the portions of the opera that he wanted to play and also set the sequence of the excerpts. He expressed his ideas as to instrumentation, wishing to make generous use of saxophones and banjo, and to dispense with Gershwin’s pet instrument, the piano. I proceeded not only to follow Reiner’s ideas faithfully, but also to remain completely loyal to George’s harmonic and orchestral intentions.”
With Gershwin’s requirement for an all-black cast and its length of four hours, staging Porgy and Bess as a full opera is a prohibitively massive undertaking for presenters. The Symphonic Picture has been a key vehicle in ensuring that Gershwin’s music from Porgy and Bess remains in constant performance.
Programme notes by Christopher Cheong, Fredrick Suwandi, and Isaac Tah.
The sequence of excerpts Reiner specified, and realised by Bennett for the Symphonic Picture is:
There’s a Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon for New York It Ain’t Necessarily So Finale (Oh, Lawd, I’m On My Way) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
Scene in Catfish Row, with peddlers’ calls - Act 2, Scene 3
“Clara, Clara” - Act 3
Introduction - Act 1
Summertime
I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’ Storm Music (Hurricane) - Act 2, Scene 4
Bess, You Is My Woman Now The Picnic Party (Oh, I Can’t Sit Down)
The Music Makers
MUSIC DIRECTOR Chan Tze Law
ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR Seow Yibin
VIOLINS
Wilford Goh CONCERTMASTER
Kimberlyn Wu PRINCIPAL SECOND
VIOLIN
Yvonne Lee ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL
Ang Dun Jie
Ang Zien Xu
Chanz Boo
Chloe Chee
Jacob Cheng
Chui Yingqi
Bryan Chung
Fong Tze Meng
Joan Fun
Jennifer Goh
Goh Ying Xiang
Joel Hoe
Keong Jo Hsi
Esther Lam
Jaslyn Lee
Pauline Lee
Lieu May Yen
Loi Si Xian
Gloria Loo
Estee Ng
Way Ng
Christopher Phay
Rayner Tan
Josiah Teo
Gary Teoh
Ethan Wong
Christabel Yuen
VIOLA
May Loh PRINCIPAL
Shannon Chan
Christopher Cheong
Calvin Dai
Gao Wei
Skyler Goh
Elizabeth Ip
Ryan Koh
Uliang Lim
Claudia Loo
Jayson Loo
Ng Tze Yang
Nathalie Nguyen
Karis Ong
Oliver Tan
Samuel Tan
Toh Xue Qian
CELLO
James Ng PRINCIPAL
Trinh Ha Linh ASSOCIATE
PRINCIPAL
Joy Chen
Lavinia Chu
Charis Low
Peh Xiang Hong
Isaac Tah
Tang Ya Yun
Joel Tay
Shavaun Toh
DOUBLE BASS
Lee Zi Xuan
Damien Chew
Kenrick Lam
Lee Mian Jun
Alvin Liew
Alwyn Loy
Kevin Seah
Fredrick Suwandi
FLUTE
Jasper Goh PRINCIPAL
Natasha Lee
PICCOLO
Alvin Chan
OBOE
Seow Yibin PRINCIPAL
Tay Kai Tze PRINCIPAL
John Fung
ENGLISH HORN
Seow Yibin
Tay Kai Tze
CLARINET
Benjamin Wong PRINCIPAL
Chua Jay Roon
Claudia Toh
BASS CLARINET
Chua Jay Roon
SAXOPHONE
Michellina Chan PRINCIPAL
Ryan Wee
Joshua Kaleb Kong
BASSOON
Lim Tee Heong PRINCIPAL
Tan Kuo Cheang
FRENCH HORN
Xavier Tan PRINCIPAL
Lewis Lim ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL
Harsharon Kaur
Ong Hwee Ling
TRUMPET
Lau Wen Rong PRINCIPAL
Alvin Quek
Joshua Tan
TROMBONE
Don Kow PRINCIPAL
Hendrik Kwek ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL
BASS TROMBONE
Benjamin Lim
TUBA
Shawn Yap PRINCIPAL
TIMPANI
Thaddeus Chung PRINCIPAL
PERCUSSION
Yuru Lee PRINCIPAL
Akhilesh Vellavan
Gordon Tan
Wong Ting Feng
HARP
Charmaine Teo PRINCIPAL
Renee Yadav
KEYBOARD
Ng Yun Wen
OMM Board and Management
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Lee Guan Wei Daniel CHAIRMAN
Jenny Ang
Assoc. Prof Chan Tze Law
Christopher Cheong
Susan Loh
Jesher Loi
Sanjiv Malhotra
Toh Xue Qian
Prof Bernard Tan ADVISOR
MANAGEMENT TEAM
PROGRAMMES
ARTISTIC DEVELOPMENT
Christopher Cheong HEAD
Nathanael Goh
Michael Huang
Lee Jinjun
Fredrick Suwandi
Oliver Tan
Isaac Tah
HUMAN RESOURCE
Ang Zien Xu
Nathanael Goh
Lee Jinjun
Lee Yuru
Jayson Loo
Estee Ng
Fredrick Suwandi
Kelsey Tan
Josiah Teo
Kimberlyn Wu
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Isaac Tah HEAD
Ang Zien Xu
Natasha Lee
Shi Jia Ao
SPONSORSHIP
Edward Neo HEAD
Christopher Cheong
Kenny Ooi
Rayner Tan
BRANDING & MARKETING
Michael Huang HEAD
Chan Chen
Chua Jay Roon
Chloe Goh
Elizabeth Ip
Josiah Teo
LIBRARY & LOGISTICS
Wu Tianhao HEAD
Lee Jinjun
Rei Lim
Edward Neo
Preston Ng
Muhammad Bin Roslee
Isaac Tah
Joshua Tan
Tan Yao Cong
TECHNOLOGY
Chay Choong HEAD
Lam Yun En
Tasya Rukmana
FINANCE
Neo Wei Qing HEAD
Edward Neo
Shi Jia Ao
AUDIENCE EXPERIENCE
Rayner Tan HEAD
Lam Hoyan
Estee Ng
Jorim Sim
Upcoming Concerts
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST IN CONCERT
Presented by Willow Arts
Sat 18 Jan 2025, 3pm and 8pm
Esplanade Theatre
Joshua Tan, conductor
Programme:
MENKEN – Beauty and the Beast: Live to Film
SOLISTI IN CONCERT
Sat, 1 Mar 2025
SOTA Concert Hall
Seow Yibin, conductor
Featuring the winners of the 2024 SOTA Concerto Competition
Programme:
BRAHMS – Symphony No. 3
Full repertoire TBC
More concerts in 2025 to be announced soon!
13 SEP 2024
7.30pm, Victoria Concert Hall
PRESIDENT’S YOUNG PERFORMERS CONCERT
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Rodolfo Barráez Associate Conductor
Toby Tan Kai Rong piano
Adrian Tang piano
11 & 12 OCT 2024
7.30pm, Victoria Concert Hall
FIRE, FANTASIA AND PULCINELLA
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Ernst piano
Tickets from $15
Our Donors (2021 - 2024)
$25,000 AND ABOVE
Anonymous (4)
Lionel Choi
Qi Jian
Shiv Puri
Will Oswald
$10,000 AND ABOVE
Aileen Tang
Arts Junior Montessori LLP
Chua Siew Eng
Goh Yew Lin
JCCI Singapore Foundation
Joshua Tan
Lee Foundation
Michelle Liem
Mind the Gap 200 - Mental Health Fund
Rohet Tolani
Wilson Ho
$5,000 AND ABOVE
Chiang Zhan Xiang
Choo Chiau Beng
Christopher Cheong
David Lim Jen Hong
Dr June and Peter Sheren
Fabian Jee
Francis Tan
Han Jiak Siew
Ignatius Wang
Jennie Tan Whye Chin
Kan Shook Wah
Low Sin Leng
msm-productions
Ng Pei Sian
Winston Kwek
$1,000 AND ABOVE
Anonymous (5)
Abigail Sin
Adriene Cheong
Ai Ee Ling
Alwyn Loy
Alyce Chong Chyi Yiing
Aw Ling Hui Adeline
Carol Goh
Chay Choong
Cheah Sui Ling
Chikako Sasaki
Christina Cheong Foong Yim
Dandan Wang
Darrell Chan
David and Catherine Zemans
Dominic Khoo Kong Weng
Dr Mandy Zhang and Mr Philip Chang
Elizabeth Fong Ei Lie
Hanbaobao Pte Ltd
Ian Rickword
James Poole
Jeremy Tan Yu Jie
Julia Raiskin
Kenneth Chan Kay Shan
Kenny Ooi
Khoo Kim Geok Jacqueline
Koh Tien Gui
Kuik Sing Beng
Lee Guan Wei Daniel
Lena Ching
Lim Tanguy Yuteck
Loy Kaixun Jeremy
Ng Ruenn Sheng
Pang Peter Yu Hin
Raveen Joseph Mathew
Raymond Robert Sim Weipien
Revival Vintage Jewels & Objects
Robert Tomlin
Sophie Ana binti Mohamed Harith
Kassim
Tatsu Works Pte Ltd
Thuraisingam Sellathurai
Vincent Ong
Xinan Liu
Yeo Wei Ping Patricia
Zhao Tian
UP TO $1,000
Anonymous (18)
Aik Keong Neo
Alvin Wang Hanxiong
Amane Chu Yi Min
Ang Xueqi
Angel Phuay Li Ting
Angela Koh
Angela Lim Ai Lian
Anne Elise Rifkin-Graboi
Bai Yizhuo
Bennett
Carol Lim Phek Nai
Chan Wai Leong
Chea Ruei-E
Chester Tan
Chew Sutat
Chia Chee Boon
Chin Mei Kuan
Chuan Hiang Teng
Chung Phuong Dinh
Claude Ludlow
Cristina Bargan
Deanna Wong Jia-Wei
Dennis Khoo
Derek Lim
Dian Marissa Sumadi
Diana
Diana Silva
Fym Summer
Gerald Wang
Goh Chay Hiang
Gwyneth Choo
Han Soon Lang
Heng Boey Hong
Ho Yee Choo Samantha
Ho Yin Shan
Huey Lin Teo
Ivan Demodov
James Leanne Kerry
James Ng Teck Chuan
Janice Leong Yoke Leng
Jaslyn Lee
Jason
Jess
Jessie Ong
Jia Jia
Joanne Goh
John Lillard
Jumabhoy Iqbal
Justina Leong Jing Wen
Kenny Wong
Kenrick Lam
Keong Jo Hsi
Khee Zi Ling
Kiat Kee Ng
Kim Huat Soh
Koh Wei Ying Ann
Kok Soke Wai (Guo Shu Hui)
Kong Yee Mun
Konstantin Spirin
Kwan Wei Meng William
Lai Car Man
Lai Jun Zhen
Lai Kum Chow
Lalvani Jetu Jacques Taru
Lauren and Mr Marvs
Lee Boon Yew
Lee Guo
Lee Jee Soo
Lee Sue-Ann
Lee Tse Liang
Lee Yu Hong
Leslie Tan
Leung Hui Qi, Selena
Lewis Jennifer Theresa
Li Jiaying
Lim Ang Tee
Lim Huey Yuee
Lim Mei Jean
Lim Swee Boey
Lim You Zhen
Liong Khoon Kiat
Loh Shih Ying
Loh Zheng Jie Benedict
Long Shi Ying
Lydea Gn Wei En
Lynn Ho
Margaret Chew Sing Seng
Markey Pauline Anastasia
Michael Huang
Michelle Tan Shimin
Nadia Adjani Soerjanto
Nathanael Goh
Neoh Swee Beng
Nicholas Cheng Chee Keen
Oi Way Lee
Ong Su Pin
Ong Yen May
Pearly Ma Li-Pinn
Peggy Kek
Peh Xiang Hong
Peter Yap Wan Shern
Putu Sanjaya Setiawan
Raphaela Koenig
Rayner Tan Renyi
Richard Lee Seng Hoon
Sam Chee Chong
Sarah Goh
Seiko Ushijima
Sharon Teo Woon Ching
Shen Xichen
Shiqi
Siddharth Biswas
Siew Kee Lau
Soo Ping Lim
Sun Haichun
Suwandi Leo
Tan Phuay Miang
Tan Sze Meng Sara
Tan Wei Jie Kelvin
Tan You Wei
Ted Toth
Teo Hwee Ping
Teo Mei Yin Olivia
Teo Wei Lin
Tetsu Serizawa
Vadapalli Raju
Valarie Koh
Villangca Anna Lynn Jacinto
Vincent Wang
Wang Chen Chung
Winson Lay Chee Loong
Winston Kwek
Wong Man Di Amanda
Wong Mee Fong
Wong Yick Mun Edmund
Wong Yoon Foong
Xia Hongwei
Yan Jia Yin
Yap Yuling Eunice
Yew Wan Qing
MAKE A DONATION
Orchestra of the Music Makers Ltd. (UEN: 201002361G) is an Institution of a Public Character (IPC) and donations are eligible for 2.5 times tax deduction.
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